Tag Archives: gambling
Blackjack – Part of the Gambling Boom
Casino gambling has a very interesting history. From the beginning, the casinos were established as a form of recreation and a way to earn money from what people were willing to bet.
Throughout the years they developed a more efficient dealer system and provided new services to customers. In present, most of casinos are placed near or combined with hotels, restaurants, art galleries, shopping centers, etc. in order to have all services you wish in one single place and spend more time having fun.
As a result, the money used on gambling was constantly increasing and casinos were crowded with players.
But this is not as easy as it seems. For example, around 1910, Nevada, a well known gaming venue, was confronting with so many complaints because of gambling addiction that the promoters of casinos had to put an end to their businesses even though they brought prosperity on the communities that surround these establishments.
The gambling activities started again in 1930 but not with the same glamour. The businesses were moving slowly now. One reason is Great Depression, a negative economic period with large effects in all aspects of life. Another way of keeping people away from casinos was the negative public attitude through the gambling because of Mafia that was placing in doubt the credibility of the gambling system, leading the casinos almost to bankruptcy.
Now gambling is rampant. Why? What was happening all of a sudden? In 1962, Edward Oakley Thorp, a scholar and also a player, wrote Beat the Dealer, the first book to prove mathematically that Blackjack could be beaten by card counting. His strategies, focused on Blackjack game, can still be employed with great efficiency today.
Due to his revolutionary book people swarmed again in casinos and were generating profitable revenues. Instead of humble beginnings, it seems that casinos are here to stay. Just think about Las Vegas, Nevada and the significant economic growth of these areas.
A multitude of literature resources can be found regarding the force of gambling and its impact. Some extol its positive virtues, others blame its addiction.
Anyway, casino gambling is about winning. And one of the most winnable games is Blackjack. Thats why it is a very popular game in every casino.
Blackjack is a good choice for beginners, for very rich people and less rich people who are addicted to gambling or attempted to raise money. With a proven blackjack strategy everyone can win constantly and go home with a smile on their face.
Luck Versus Skill in Playing Poker Games
Is poker a game based on luck or skill? This debate has been going on for quite sometime now. The group of people who are into the game, say that the rules and strategies are required to play this game. Without skills, one cannot dream of winning this pot. Whereas the other group who are watching poker from a distance, feel that it’s a game totally driven by luck and probability. They feel that it just another game of gambling or lottery requiring no skills.
But if you think harder then poker is a game which has tournaments. We never heard of any other so called gambling tournaments like say blackjack tournament. The famous poker legends definitely didn’t win the World Series of Poker, twice by fluke. From various studies it is clear that a player with knowledge of the game fair better compared to a layman. In Pennsylvania where gambling was being prohibited, a judge named Thomas A. James Junior, declared Texas Holdem to be a game driven by skill and thus does not fall under the category of gambling. This clearly spells out that poker requires much more than sheer luck.
But again if you see it from the other side, then a lucky player with the right cards will go a long way and even win a particular game. And you will have to agree that a bit of luck is required everywhere. Even a skilled poker player will need some luck to push him further towards winning the pot. But poker is generally badly confused with gambling. Moreover it is difficult to say that it’s a game of skill, when a game of payer is played only once. At such a situation it is difficult to predict that which of the two (luck or skill) contributes to the game.
The most rational thinkers will not bother getting into the debatable topic of luck versus skill. They know that poker players should be well aware of the rules, bets and strategies to be able to make the best hand of five cards. A completely ill-informed player cannot go a long way. Luck is again a factor that ensures an easy win. A great set of cards does have an advantage. Where skill can be relied on, luck is not reliable. One cannot go on winning consecutive games on the basis of luck. A player with both good luck and good skill will definitely win the pot but a player with both bad skill and bad luck shouldn’t hope much. So let’s just say that poker requires both luck and skill in the right combination.